The role of interventional radiology in abdominopelvic trauma

The management of trauma patients has evolved in recent decades owing to increasing availability of advanced imaging modalities such as CT. Nowadays, CT has replaced the diagnostic function of angiography. The latter is considered when a therapeutic option is hypothesized. Arterial embolization is a life-saving procedure in abdominopelvic haemorrhagic patients, reducing relevant mortality rates and ensuring haemodynamic stabilization of the patient. Percutaneous transarterial embolization has been shown to be effective for controlling ongoing bleeding for patients with high-grade abdominopelvic injuries, thereby reducing the failure rate of non-operative management, preserving maximal organ function. Surgery is not always the optimal solution for stabilization of a patient with polytrauma. Mini-invasivity and repeatability may be considered as relevant advantages. We review technical considerations, efficacy and complication rates of hepatic, splenic, renal and pelvic embolization to extrapolate current evidence about transarterial embolization in traumatic patients.